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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — a subject
  4. hand — in cards
  5. board — a committee
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — for sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — a division
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. tear — to rip
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tear — from crying
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. board — to get on
  23. hand — help
  24. board — a flat piece

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com